Hi momcat,

Yes,the useage of the word 'bearded' is the basic translation into English from the Japanese Romanji term hige,prounced as hee-gay....

The word hige in Japanese often has some allusion to aspects considered to be of a masculine nature within Japanese culture and here are some examples of other words that use the term hige as a root word

hige:moustache, beard, whiskers
hige: humility,
chobihige:small mustache, short mustache
douryokushigen:sources of power
hachijihige:finely-trimmed moustache
hanahige:moustache
hoohige:whiskers, sideburns, sideboards
jintekishigen:man-power resources
kakushigei:hidden talent
shigekiteki:stimulating
shigekizai:stimulant
shigemi:thicket
shigen:resources
shigen:wise saying
shigeru:to grow thick, to luxuriate, to be luxurious
tennenshigen:natural resources
tenshinhige:goatee
tsukehige:false moustache

The hige type will have a splintered or 'fringed' edge to the corolla,almost indistinguishable from the feathered types,so your white flower with the red 'beard' is going to have a 'whitish' central area with the remainder of the limb being reddish and the hige with all red parts is going to have an all reddish flower with a fringed or feathered edge...

These are most often Ipomoea purpurea,although I've seen some Ipomoea nil with this feature also...

I hope this helps you to know what to expect from your japanese seeds and as always ...

Enjoy your MG's...

TTY,...

Ron

Here is a link that might be useful: PlantFiles Database at Daves showing hige type MG